Despite being a comedian, Jordan Peele has been under the radar of horror movie fans ever since his successful directorial debut with Get Out which won him multiple Oscars. Now, Peele’s third horror film Nope is finally coming to Philippine theaters this week!
Nope follows siblings OJ and Em who inherit a ranch of horses in Hollywood that are being used for film and television productions. Meanwhile, the former child star Jupe who is running a nearby theme park called Jupiter’s Claim, plans to buy the ranch from OJ. Things get bizarre when an unknown flying object begins to appear in the sky, but the siblings and Jupe find this as an opportunity to profit off of the flying saucer and the mysteries surrounding it. Watch Nope‘s trailer below:
Before you see Nope on the big screen this week, here are some fun facts about the movie you might want to know about!
1. Daniel Kaluuya and Jordan Peele are back.
Daniel Kaluuya won an Oscar for Best Actor in Peele’s first film Get Out, and now the two are back together for the director’s new movie. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the director shared that Kaluuya is his “favorite actor in the world.”
“I couldn’t wait longer to work with him again. One of the things I admire most about him is his powerful stillness. Nobody else has it. He doesn’t need words to communicate his thoughts or emotions. In the scariest and quietest moments, you know exactly what he’s feeling and experiencing just by looking at him, and that’s so powerful. His big eyes, his body language—he brings so much emotion,” the director explained.
2. Jupiter’s Claim has become a real Hollywood attraction.
Jupiter’s Claim, the theme park that Jupe has built to earn from his childhood tragedy, was rebuilt in real life to become part of the iconic Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. In an interview with Forbes, Universal Creative’s Vice President Jon Corfino shared that they were given access to Peele’s set for Nope to further understand how the set works.
“It’s unique to go out to a set and be there while it’s filming, to partner with Jordan and the production team, and get into the filmmaking process,” said Corfino. “We were allowed excellent access to help understand the film and figure out how we could do it. Usually, the movie is out, and you can tailor what you want to add from an attraction or backlot basis. Being there in real time was very different and very exciting. Jordan was so welcoming, and when I first went out there and saw him, he got very excited. That got me even more excited. It was one of those times when you think, ‘Oh boy. Don’t we have the coolest jobs in the world?'”
3. The film tackles the “wrong spectacle”
Peele is known for injecting commentaries in his films, like racism in Get Out and America’s fear of “outsiders” in Us. This time, Peele is inspired the “dark time” we find ourselves in.
“I wrote this movie in a dark time that still exists. We are obsessed with the wrong spectacle, and it distracts us from what we really need to focus on,” said Peele in the same interview. “The movie is a reflection of all the awfulness and the spectacular horrors that we’ve been living through.”
In an interview with CBC News, Peele also revealed that he was partly inspired by Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind and M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs.
4. Peele made an intro for the fictional sitcom ‘Gordy’s Home’.
In the film, the child star Jupe is introduced as part of the fictitious sitcom Gordy’s Home. The sitcom ended tragically, however, when the show’s chimpanzee murdered its cast members, leaving Jupe as the lone survivor. Peele has released the intro clip for the sitcom within the movie, which you could watch below:
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 24, 2022
Here’s another bonus fact about the tragedy that transpired on the set of the fictional show. Peele tweeted back in 2014 a dream that he had which is very similar to the young Jupe’s experience in the film. This most likely inspired Jupe’s subplot in Nope.
Dreamt that a baby chimp attacked some people then ran to me and hugged me all scared. I woke up with tears streaming down my face. #bruh
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) November 30, 2014
5. Gordy is made with CGI and acted by a “The Planet of the Apes” actor.
The chimpanzee that made the opening of Nope nightmarish is actually CGI created with motion capture used in The Planet of the Apes trilogy. The chimp was even played by one of the trilogy’s actors, Terry Notary, who starred as Rocket.
Nope opens in cinemas nationwide this Wednesday, August 17, 2022. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.
